Optic Sensor of the Tiger
by TM3 Dinobot
Summary: Tigress joins the Maximal, and Dinobot enjoys the pleasure of her company.


It was mid-afternoon at the Axalon, when Optimus Primal had radioed   
the base from grid Otrion. "Optimus to base. I've found the stasis pod and   
it's going through the activation sequence," Primal reported. "What's the   
status on the protoform?" Rhinox had asked at the console.   
  
"The activation sequence is complete. Tell everyone to get ready to   
meet, Tigress." Dinobot, who had overheard what was going on from behind   
Rhinox, winced in disgust. Dinobot had never truly understood female   
warriors, and could not understand why he was cursed to fight beside them   
during his role in the Beast Wars. That was until the unidentifiable aliens   
had abducted Tigatron ad Airazor.  
  
About a megacycle later, Optimus had returned with the latest   
addition to the Maximal team. Dinobot had taken a glance at Tigress, and he   
had noticed that there was something different about his new ally. Instead   
of the energetic, peppy, somewhat anxious femme-bot he expected to see, from   
his experience with Airazor, he was confronted by a bot who was quiet, and   
kind of nervous. A slight sense of insecurity could be seen in her optic   
sensors, which was only easily seen by Dinobot but not so much to everyone   
else. Primal had walked Tigress into her quarters and she almost immediately   
went straight into sleep mode. The next morning Dinobot awoke to a pitiful   
sight.  
  
Dinobot had left his room early in the morning and into the training   
room for his daily morning work out. The room had been engineered by Rhinox   
based on a concept that Dinobot had bestowed. It was designed in such a way   
that the user would connect his or her optics into the ship's computer, and a   
simulated image of Predacon practice targets would appear in the user's mind.   
The Maximal would then aim his weapon at the target, fire directly at the   
wall in the area the target looked like it was in, and the wall would absorb   
the energy from the weapon and recycle into power for the ship and the target   
would be "destroyed". Dinobot had entered the room and found Tigress in a   
training cycle. He had only noticed then how stunning her exostructure was,   
since he didn't get all that good a look at her when she had first set foot   
inside the base. She had a beast and robot mode approximately like the newly   
enhanced Transmetal Cheetor, only with a few more curves, and the halves of   
her beast head folded back on her forearms to reveal more feminine hands.  
  
Dinobot had plugged his optics into the training room's computer to   
see how she was doing, and he almost gasped at her most poor performance.   
Almost everywhere on screen was a banner that continually flashed   
"unacceptable". Tigeress turned in the simulated arena, and saw a choppy   
computer model figure which appeared to resemble a brown, blue and silver   
humanoid. She had unplugged her mind from the computer and saw that it was   
the Maximal that she had seen in the Bridge the preceding night. "Oh, uh,   
hi......" she started. "I'm Tigeress, the new arrival...you're Dinobot,   
aren't you?" Dinobot tried to give nothing away on how he felt about her   
inability to destroy a mindless target. "Uh, yes. (snarl)I just came in here   
to do my morning exercises. I couldn't help but notice how you are doing on   
the practice simulation....it's pretty okay," he managed to cough out, trying   
not to bring her down on her first day of work. Tigeress liked the   
compliment, but didn't at all think that the raptor was telling the truth.   
"Oh, come on. I suck like a Predacon vacuum chamber." Dinobot chuckled at   
her little personal riff, but couldn't understand why she felt that way about   
herself. "I'm all done in here, if you want to do your business," Tigeress   
said to Dinobot and she left. Dinobot never felt all that much compassion   
for any Maximal in the past, partly because they never shared the same lust   
for battle which he did, and partly due to his past racist Predacon heritage,   
but something echoed in his mind that seemed to say "I must help this woman".  
  
  
  
Later that morning, Optimus had ordered Dinobot on an Energon mining   
mission. Dinobot was on his way into the man-lift, in beast mode, when   
Optimus had stalled him for a moment, whispering to him. "....And take   
Tigeress with you. You know, just to get her feet wet." Dinobot saw this as   
an opportunity to talk to Tigeress, but gave the same inflection of his voice   
he always gave just to hide his unusual anticipation. "(growl) If I must.   
Although you must admit you are wasting my talents on a task as simple as   
this." And with that, Dinobot and Tigeress were on there way, which was a   
bit of a disappointment for Cheetor who was starting to develop something of   
a schoolboy crush on the new turbo jet-propelled cat-bot.   
  
Dinobot and his companion were on their way to Grid Tobonid and he   
started talking to her, who was at the moment staring down at the path in   
front of her as she walked. "Tigeress, would you mind if I asked you a bold   
question?" Tigeress looked up. "I guess so."  
"You and I don't know each other very well, but I can tell that you   
don't think all that confidently about yourself, do you?"  
Tigeress hesitated. ".........Not especially."  
"Why not?"  
"Well, I am new here, and I barely know anything about what's going   
on with all this Beast Wars jazz. I don't even know why we're fighting with   
these "Predacons". Whatever the conflict is about, couldn't Optimus simply   
talk to Megatron or whoever's in charge?............I just don't know why we   
need to fight."  
  
Dinobot thought of what she had told him for a moment. He had seen   
this type of "first-battle-jitters" in young Predacon warriors back in his   
day. Unfortunately these "first-battle-jitters" he had observed in the past   
only sprang from their nature of self-preservation, not so much as if they   
were doing the right thing for Cybertron or not by sending themselves into   
battle.   
Finally, he spoke. "Tigeress, do you see yourself as a descent   
warrior?"  
"Well, not exactly......"  
"There. There is the problem. You don't think that you could do   
well in battle. You fear that if we lose the Beast Wars it would be you to   
blame, don't you?"  
  
Tigeress thought for a moment. "....I guess." BULL'S-EYE! Dinobot   
had found Tigeress's fault and now he figured out how he could help her.   
Dinobot all of a sudden jumped in front of her in a boxing stance. At least   
that what he would have called it, if he knew what boxing was. "Here,   
Tigeress. Try to punch me in the face." Tigeress backed away, holding her   
hands up in front of him. "Oh, no. I couldn't possibly..." Dinobot   
realized that the only way he could get this Nervous Nelly to do anything he   
said would need to be in a rough manner. "PUNCH ME IN MY FACE, WOMAN!!!"   
Dinobot yelled, pointing to his face, which was a move that he had picked up   
from what he had heard was a command that may have been given to an American   
soldier by his commanding officer. Tigeress was a little scared about what   
might happened if she actually did strike the former Predacon, and finally   
forced out, ".......Okay. But I don't want to hurt you."   
  
*SMAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!!*  
  
Dinobot fell backwards from the sudden thrust of Tigeress's blow to his blue,   
metallic jaw. Tigeress rushed over to him immediately, trying to get him   
back on his feet. "Oh, my God! Dinobot! Are you alright???" Dinobot merely   
grumbled out "......Eureka....."  
  
  
Tigeress soon saw where Dinobot was going with his idea whenever they   
were alone. Normally under such circumstances, the two Cybertronians would   
tell their leader what they have been doing when they mysteriously   
disappeared from the Maximal's sight, but both Tigeress and Dinobot knew that   
if word had reached Optimus, then they could kiss their training courses   
goodbye, with Optimus believing that Dinobot would be to rough with her.   
Through the weeks and months, the other Maximals were starting to formulate   
theories about where they could possibly be going. If Dinobot had heard the   
story that Rattrap had concocted, Rhinox would have to divert all power on   
the ship for the CR chamber in order to take care of the kind of damage that   
would engulf the wisecracking vermin! Optimus had sent Cheetor on several   
scouting missions to attempt to follow Dinobot and Tigeress, but even though   
his official function was a Robotic Jungle Patrol, he could never manage to   
stay on their trail for more than fifteen cycles. If only Rattrap knew how   
accurate his theory was.......  
  
  
Dinobot had been training Tigeress for all this time, and she was   
becoming a more fierce warrior everyday, but still holding the kindness and   
intelligence that she had when she first arrived. The training courses had   
kept them occupied for the most part, except when Megatron had occasionally   
sent out Waspinator to see what was going on out there and getting blown to   
scrap on his first hit. Over time, something had happened that neither of   
them had expected; they began to show compassion for each other that went   
beyond "just being friends". This was surprising for Tigeress, but even more   
so for Dinobot, knowing the fact that he was never exactly the most likeable   
individual. On the contrary, back when he was in a Predacon platoon some   
stellarcycles back, his comrades on a drunken night had on several occasions   
elected him as "the least likely Predacon to get some without resorting to a   
prostitute". Tigeress admired his warrior skills and veterinary history, as   
well as his obvious physique. Dinobot saw that as she was training, Tigeress   
was feeling more confident about herself and becoming stronger and more agile   
by the decacycle. Her sudden increase in confidence was letting Dinobot see   
her true personality, not just the insecure Maximal he had first met that   
fateful night. At last Dinobot had thought to himself, "is this the one I've   
been looking for all this time? Is Tigeress the one and only that could   
really make my existence complete?" Dinobot had thought about this concept   
for a while and tried to shake it off without another thought. But then he   
always saw Tigeress's beautiful eyes staring into his own, and his conscious   
mind continually went offline and switched itself to "wishful calculation   
mode".  
  
  
Even for Waspinator, Megatron was a little surprised seeing him   
return to The Darkside in at least 200+ pieces every time he had stepped   
outside on his constant recon missions. Megatron knew that something was   
going on out there, but he wasn't sure of what. As the kind of Pred Megatron   
was, who merely talks to himself for 93% of his Spark's existence, this   
situation was no different matter. "Something must be done about this.....  
yes. Rampage! Take Quickstrike and Black Arachnia to Grid Tobonid and   
destroy any Maximal on sight!" It was a command that both he and Rampage had   
heard many times by now. Waspinator who was nearby liked what he had heard   
from his leader. "Ooh, Wazzzpinator not know that Megatron care about him so   
much," buzzed the deluded insect with his hands folded behind his back. "I'm   
not worried about YOU, you dolt! Anything that blows up any of my troops on   
such a scale is a threat to my forces." Waspinator grunted out "00101110",   
which in Predacon binary code meant an extreme expletive, but that's not   
important for the time being.  
  
Dinobot was sparring with Tigeress, and this was an exercise that   
both of them enjoyed above other activities. It gave them a chance to see   
how their skill was as well as their opponent. It also gave them an idea of   
what they were dealing with in the event that they, as humans would put it,   
"go all the way", before crossing that line. In the distance, they both   
heard a rumbling. This was an ample opportunity for Dinobot to "quiz" his   
pupil. "What is that, Tigeress?" he asked her. Tigeress cupped her auditory   
receptors in the area from where the noise originated. Slowly she gave a   
description of the incoming object. "Predacons.....three of them.......  
sounds like Rampage is with them........can't make out the other two.........  
about, 30 clicks north by northeast," she explained pointing her hand out.   
Dinobot's mind twitched a bit erotically as she said "make out" just then,   
but shook it off almost immediately. He pulled out his electron sword and   
slasher shield in preparation for their little company that had arrived   
unexpectedly, as did Tigeress with her whip tail and built-in quasar cannon.   
They crouched into their designated positions, ready to ambush their   
pursuers.  
  
The three Predacons were in Grid Tobonid for some time now, unto no   
avail of seeing anything in terms of Maximals. In fact, they were unto no   
avail of seeing anything at all other than the strange, Earth landscape.   
(Strange to anyone seeing it through the eyes of a Cybertronian, anyway.)   
"Find anythin' yet, Suga'-bot?" Quickstrike asked the spider. Black Arachnia   
answered to the pet-name he had given her, but couldn't understand why she   
let the robo-hick call her that since she was now done toying with him back   
when Tarantulas was haunting the depths of her mind. "No, nothing yet. If   
you ask me, Waspinator is a total idiot and forgot which way to point his   
cyber-sting launcher all those times!" "No one asked you!" retorted Rampage   
as surly as ever. You and other people may think that Rampage is nothing   
more than a big jerk, but how would you act if some Pred ripped out half of   
your heart and made you a slave, as well as making you fight in a war you   
knew nothing about? Then from out of nowhere, Dinobot and Tigeress leaped   
out of their hiding places and the battle began.  
  
Dinobot led the attack, letting Tigeress get a good head start for   
her beginning moves. His first attack was on the darn-tootin' Fuzor,   
Quickstrike. Dinobot admired Quickstrike's similar love for the battlefield   
that he did, but at the same time was disgusted by his incompetence in   
formulating a strategy before leaping into a situation. Before Quickstrike   
could infect Dinobot with his "patented" cyber-venom, he lunged out of the   
way and jabbed his sword into the "Snake's" arm. With Quickstrike virtually   
pinned, Dinobot used his slasher shield to slice off the cobra's head, or his   
right robot arm. The Fuzor let out an ear-piercing   
"DAAAAAAAAAANNNGGGG!!!!!!" in pain. Rampage fired at the Spark-thirsty   
Maximal, hoping to defend his comrade. Not that he cared for the Fuzor, mind   
you. He simply feared that Megatron would torture his Spark should he   
receive word that the crab was merely fighting for himself. Rampage   
continued firing on Dinobot, who had been taking a lot of damage at this   
point, and then exploded in a burning heap of scrap metal. Shards of metal   
and fiberglass decorated the battlefield and Dinobot's Spark had vanished   
from existence.  
  
  
  
  
..........At least that's what would have happened if Rampage had   
carried out his task. Instead, he was shot in the back by Tigeress. She had   
learned from her teachings that it was dishonorable to shoot an opponent   
square in the back, but in a situation as drastic as this, she had allowed   
herself to make an exception. Black Arachnia knew that Dinobot was a greater   
threat than Tigeress ever could be, but she decided to take out the femme   
first, since she was pretty much an easy target. She fired an energy web at   
Tigeress so she could try more unspeakable tortures on her before merely   
destroying her. If Maximals had known of the term "bitch", this would be how   
Tigeress would address her at this time. As she did not know of the word,   
she merely let out a yelp of pain as she hit the ground. Tigeress's sharp   
cry in distress distracted Dinobot from the battle, which would actually be   
considered quite a feat since the only occasion when he would disengage from   
battle willingly was if he was about to perish in a puddle of mech fluid.  
  
"Let Tigeress go, you FREE DOWNLOAD!" Dinobot yelled at the   
treacherous spider. It has to be explained that Dinobot's use of the name   
"free download" actually referred to Black Arachnia's seemingly frequent   
sexual engages. Any time that anyone wanted her to, Black Arachnia would   
"shake her currency maker" as often as Megatron speaks when there is clearly   
no other Maximal or Predacon in sight. Seemingly enough, this similar task   
reminded Dinobot of a "free download" anyone could get off the Internet,   
which unfortunately had been obsolete for Maximals and Predacons for nearly   
400 or so years. The user would need no password, no confirmation name, no   
credit card number, no E-mail subscription, simply a free download anyone   
could access. Black Arachnia, however, understood the insult as clearly as   
Dinobot's perception on a peaceful living, and she fired a missile containing   
cyber-venom at him. With barely any time to think, Dinobot raised his shield   
and threw the missile out of the way........ and directly into Quickstrike's   
forehead, who had just now managed to stagger to his claw-like feet and was   
sent crashing to the ground again.  
  
Dinobot fired his optic lasers at Black Arachnia, sending her several   
yards in the same direction of the beams. She often thought it somewhat   
pathetic that she hadn't been altered by the quantum surge, otherwise she   
would have easily been able to withstand such an attack that may have been   
obsolete by this time. Dinobot's intelligence on a scale of 1 to 10 is only   
5 (according to his tech spec), but he was smart enough to fire at Black   
Arachnia's machine gun barrels within her spider legs, disabling any future   
use of firepower and leaving her helpless. As a black widow spider, Black   
Arachnia gained a most valuable tactic from her beast mode: "When all else   
fails, RUN!". She transformed from her visually pleasing robot mode to her   
horrifying beast mode and scuttled off. She was actually making incredible   
time back to her base, considering the fact that she had got the slag blown   
out of her scrawny legs.  
  
Quickstrike and Rampage were down, Black Arachnia had retreated, and   
this was classified as Tigeress's first real success in battle, whose only   
actual damage was a few bruises after falling from the energy web kindly   
provided by the spider. Dinobot had released her from her prison, and they   
just stared into each other's eyes for several moments. No one is exactly   
sure what had happened next, but it isn't at all unlikely that they both   
thought simultaneously "I can't stand it anymore!" They cracked. Their will   
had been broken, and the two Maximals found themselves embracing and deeply   
kissing one another. No other setting could be more romantic for them, even   
though the battleground had in fact been littered by assorted pieces of a   
mangled cobra/scorpion and a crazed Transmetal crab.   
  
They both knew that they shouldn't act like this, Dinobot being the   
instructor and Tigeress the pupil, but they didn't know how to stop, although   
they had found it incredibly easy to get started in the first place.   
Dinobot's Spark had finally felt complete with loving the beautiful robotic   
tiger who stood in front of him. Neither Dinobot or Tigeress knew it, but   
after that, their Spark's had merged and the tiger had been impregnated.   
  
Nobody is absolutely 100% sure just how Cybertronian reproduction is devised,  
but a theory that I and my colleagues have concocted about "when two robots   
are attracted to each other" can be read in my upcoming forum, "Cybertronian   
Reproduction: The Miracle Robotic Life".   
  
They had both planned on getting married afterwards, and living   
happily ever after, which was what all the world meant to them........   
until Megatron had discovered the valley where the human race originated.  
  
  
The last words that Tigeress would ever hear from her beloved Dinobot   
were a plea to pass on his heroic story. Dinobot spoke weakly "....tell my   
tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, ill deeds along with the good....and   
let me be judged accordingly. The rest ....... is silence." Dinobot's   
internal systems shut down entirely and his Spark soon joined the Matrix and   
would never see the birth of his children. Tigeress knew that nothing, not   
even Tarantulas's reprogramming abilities could erase her mind of her   
beloved. Dinobot's tale does not end here, however. He had received the   
Hero's funeral he had always dreamed of receiving, and was recycled for power   
for the other Maximals. Tigeress didn't use his energy, as was expected, but   
reused parts of his exostructure to build a body for the Spark she was now   
carrying inside of her, with the ever-so obliged help of Rhinox's skills.   
She would never let her child go on living without hearing of it's wonderful,   
incredibly heroic father, Dinobot. ................And they both never forgot   
him.  
  



End file.
